1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a passenger car with body openings that are selectively covered by a roof and decklid that share a supporting linkage and actuator for opening and closing the body openings.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,704,225 discloses a vehicle with pontoon design and open body. In addition to the usual body openings to be closed by windows and doors, the vehicle has a rear access opening to a storage compartment, and a roof opening that covers the passenger compartment. These latter openings have cover elements in the form of a rear lid and a roof cover, which consists of a plurality of dimensionally stable roof sections that abut each other, and extend transversely over the vehicle interior with the roof cover closed. The roof sections overlap each other while retaining their mutual alignment with the roof cover opened and form a roof section package to be stowed in the rear storage compartment with the rear lid opened upwardly to the rear. The roof sections forming the roof cover and the rear lid have a shared actuating drive. The roof sections are in turn each connected in a supporting and adjustable manner with the next, wherein the roof cover is supported against the body via the rear roof section adjacent to the rear lid. The rear roof section, just as the preceding roof sections relative to each other, is supported against the body by a four-bar kinematic mechanism for which the connecting rod lies opposite the body base formed by the rear roof section.
The link in the four-bar kinematic mechanism that supports the rear roof, that is in front as viewed in the traveling direction, is actuated by means of an actuating drive. The actuating drive is provided on each vehicle side and is comprised of an actuating cylinder coupled to the rear body area of the storage compartment. Each actuating drive is located adjacent to the rear link in the four-bar kinematic mechanism. A driving rod extends to a supporting structure of the rear lid, so that the rear lid is opened upwardly to the rear around a rear swiveling axis during the opening and closing motion of the roof cover as the roof cover is either closed or removed. The rear lid must be swivelled up toward the front for loading the storage compartment. The large regulating distances inherent in such a structural design for the kinematic linkages allocated to the rear roof section take up a large amount of space. The large number of necessary coupling points also increases the cost of the assembly.
EP 0 835 778 B1 discloses another vehicle with open body and multipart roof cover consisting of dimensionally stable roof sections. A shared rotational drive allocated to the rear roof section is provided for the roof sections, and is used to swivel the rear roof section. The process of overlapping the front roof sections relative to the rear roof section is performed by link couplings between the roof sections and between the rear roof section and a fixed coupling point on the body. In this solution, the rear roof section is directly supported by means of a short bracing lug against the rotational axis of the rotational drive. The rotational drive lies near the vehicle equator, largely eliminating the link coupling points and their broad swiveling distances that impair the storage compartment for the roof cover. However, adjustment of the rear lid is not synchronized with the adjustment of the roof cover, thereby necessitating a separate drive for the rear lid if it has an automatic drive. The drive itself must be synchronized with the drive for the roof cover via corresponding control electronics, which increases the cost of the assembly.
A solution similar to the one involving this roof cover in terms of the drive and folding of roof sections is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,939,742, in which the rear roof section has a swiveling axis on the body. The rear roof section can be driven by an electric motor around the swiveling axis via a gear connection. The front roof section is folded under the rear roof section following the rear roof section when the roof cover is switched from its closed position covering the passenger compartment into a folded stowage position in the rear storage compartment. The rear lid is adjusted independently, and must be controlled accordingly, which increases the cost of the assembly.
Cover elements for body openings at the access to rear storage compartments are also known for passenger cars in the form of rear lids, which accommodate additional cover sections at the transition to the vehicle interior, e.g., in the form of a package shelf. One such solution is disclosed in DE 199 32 500 C2 wherein the rear lid is swivel up into a front and rear opened position. The rear lid is provided with a separate supporting structure used for coupling to the body shell. The rear lid can be adjusted to assume one of its opening positions relative to the body shell. The supporting structure normally forms a supporting frame and also supports the cover section serving as a package shelf, for example, when coupled by way of a parallelogram linkage, thereby enabling additional adjustments of the package shelf relative to the rear lid.
DE 198 46 006 A1 discloses a vehicle with an open body, the roof cover of which extends starting from the cowl with a roofline sloping downwardly toward the back towards rear of the vehicle. The roof cover consists of three rigid cover elements, of which the back one is provided with the rear window. The back cover element is immovably coupled to the body at the rear via a transverse vehicle axis in the area of the vehicle equator. The back cover element carries the two front cover elements that cover the passenger compartment as roof sections. The one front cover element at the rear cover element and the other front cover element are each hinged by means of a kinematic linkage with the roof cover closed. With the roof cover open, the front cover element is inwardly swivelled under the central cover element, and the central cover element is inwardly swivelled under the rear cover element. The resultant package may be stowed in a rear storage compartment. The rear cover element forms a seal above the rear storage compartment, similar to a rear lid. To adjust the roof cover between its open and closed position, the rear cover element is actuated by an actuating cylinder unit projecting up from the body. The front cover elements are adjusted relative to the rear cover element via an actuating cylinder arrangement extending in the longitudinal direction of the roof cover.
DE 101 49 456 A1 discloses a passenger car with a pontoon design having a multipart roof cover and rear lid. Separate supporting and driving connections are provided on the body for the rear roof section and the preceding front roof sections. These body connections consist of a kinematic linkage that engages the central roof section of the front roof sections and is comprised of a central and preceding roof section, and of a kinematic linkage that is provided to connect the back roof section to the rear lid. With the rear lid in the open position opened upwardly and to the rear, these body connections can be used stow the roof elements in a storage compartment to be covered by the rear lid. The back roof section covers the central roof section, and also the front roof section lying under the central roof section. This structural design requires two actuator drives that are independent from each other or controlled as a function of each other, along with separate body connections.